Chapter 16: The IOU

“Return what? Sister-in-law, you’re really good at playing dumb. Of course you have to repay the money you borrowed from me.”

“Over the decades back and forth, neither more nor less, you borrowed exactly one hundred thirty-seven yuan, eighty-six cents from me. Don’t say I’m unreasonable; if you pay back one hundred thirty-nine yuan, I’ll just charge you one cent in interest.”

Su Li put on an air of magnanimity, as if saying, “You don’t need to thank me,” which completely flustered Cheng Guixiang.

“When did I ever owe you money? Don’t talk nonsense!”

Cheng Guixiang felt guilty. She hadn’t written an IOU, and if she denied it, what could Su Li do? Besides, that was her brother’s money; what did it have to do with Su Li?

Su Li had long anticipated Cheng Guixiang would be unreasonable, and indeed, there was no IOU.

“It’s fine.”

Su Li smiled at Cheng Guixiang, who suddenly felt uneasy—something was off about Su Li today.

“Grandchildren, and Fifth Uncle hiding in the back, come out quickly and pack up. Starting today, the four of us will eat at your aunt and great-aunt’s house. Until the one hundred thirty-eight yuan is repaid, we won’t come back.”

“Second daughter-in-law, stay home and tell the others to work hard. Anyway, those of us useless ones don’t earn much work credit, but the meals will be covered.”

Cheng Junguo thought: Useless?

Su Li got up, went inside to pack two sets of clothes, and urged the others to do the same.

Er Ya was the quickest, pulling Da Ya back to get her clothes.

Fifth Uncle Cheng Junguo wasn’t slow either; he took a few kids to get their things. In no time, eight people stood before Cheng Guixiang with their bags.

“Sister-in-law, let’s hurry and leave, or we’ll miss dinner.”

“Mom—take me too! I’m useless; I can’t do much work!”

Second daughter-in-law Li Meilan stumbled out, holding the doorframe, clearly self-aware, “Mom, I eat a lot! It won’t be a loss to take me along.”

“That makes sense. Fifth Uncle, we’ll push the cart and take your second sister-in-law too.”

Su Li took charge, and the whole family cooperated. Cheng Guixiang was completely stunned.

How did things go from her borrowing money to this point?

“Su Li, stop scaring me! I don’t believe you’ll really go. Aren’t you ashamed?”

Cheng Guixiang pointed at Fifth Uncle Cheng Junguo and shouted, “He’s about to get married. Don’t you think about that? With a shameful mother like you, how will he find a wife?”

“Shameful? You’re not ashamed of not paying back. You even want to claim a share of my late husband’s money. Where do you get the face to judge us?”

“What’s shameful about us? It’s only right to repay debts. I’ll borrow some money and go, knocking all the way. I want to see who’s really shameful!”

Cheng Guixiang thought Cheng Junguo was Su Li’s weak spot. Before, whenever she brought him up, Su Li would back down.

But now, Su Li was making a big fuss, the bigger the better.

Su Li gave Cheng Guixiang no time to think and pushed her toward the door. After nearly a hundred meters outside, Cheng Guixiang panicked. Were they really going?

“Su Li, Su Li, let’s talk this through.”

Su Li ignored her and kept walking.

She led the way, followed by a group of children and Cheng Junguo pushing second daughter-in-law Li Meilan. The procession was grand.

“Su Li—I won’t borrow money anymore, okay?”

Cheng Guixiang shouted, but Su Li kept going, heading toward the village’s exit.

Cheng Guixiang clenched her teeth and stomped her foot.

“Su Li, I’ll pay you back!”

Su Li stopped, pulled out an IOU she had prepared while packing clothes.

“Here, I know you didn’t bring money. Put your fingerprint here first.”

“What? You lied to me just now?”

“Fifth Uncle, let’s keep moving! We want to arrive before dark.”

“I want to put my fingerprint first!”

Cheng Guixiang gave in. Su Li took out ink and had her write her name. The IOU was done.

“Alright, then I won’t see you off, Sister-in-law. After harvest, I’ll come get the money.”

Su Li turned and left without a trace of hesitation, leaving Cheng Guixiang standing alone, almost in tears.

No borrowed money, and she lost over a hundred yuan. What now?

When she returned, the old man would surely be furious.

Cheng Guixiang slapped her thigh and hurried back. Su Li returned home amid admiring glances from her grandchildren.

Cheng Junguo, who witnessed the whole scene, felt a chill run down his spine.

His mother was quite formidable.

On the cart, second sister-in-law Li Meilan looked around nervously.

“Mom—are we still going to eat or not?”

Su Li, walking ahead, stumbled slightly: such a thoughtless foodie.

They all returned home. Li Meilan was still lamenting the missed meal but quieted down after Su Li shot her a sharp look.

Cheng Junguo, curious, approached.

“Mom, how did you know Sister-in-law could write an IOU?”

“I didn’t, but if she didn’t write one, we’d just eat at her house. Don’t you know what kind of person your uncle is?”

Cheng Junguo remembered that stingy, violent uncle who had beaten his aunt many times. Every time his father wanted to intervene, his aunt stopped him, and she would go back alone.

So, the aunt certainly wouldn’t let the whole family come over, and that thought made Cheng Junguo’s mind itch—he wanted to become smarter.

Su Li ignored Cheng Junguo. No matter how smart he got, a small sparrow couldn’t defeat her mighty eagle.

It was almost three o’clock—time to cook.

Soon, the eldest son came home, ate, and left for work.

Su Li cooked with her grandchildren. Da Niu was sent to fetch firewood; Er Niu went to the garden to pick some old cucumbers.

San Niu just sat there washing the cucumbers while Su Li sliced them and prepared cucumber soup.

Er Ya tended the fire; Da Ya helped Su Li knead dough to make some corn noodles.

Soon, Er Niu ran back shouting, “Grandma—my eldest uncle is walking back!”

“Got it.”

Su Li responded and dropped the corn noodles into the boiling cucumber soup. Cheng Jundong entered the courtyard just as the noodles were done.

“Eldest son, wash up first. Eat after you’re clean.”

“Okay!”

Cheng Jundong responded cheerfully and quickly tidied up. His mother said work clothes could be shabby, but cleanliness was important.

After washing, Cheng Jundong ate first.

Su Li sat beside him, speaking softly.

“Eldest son, if anyone asks about the mooncakes today, just tell the truth. Don’t think about anything else, okay?”

“Okay.”

The eldest son nodded, responding with a simple “okay” without any sweet words, but Su Li felt reassured.

Cheng Junguo watched the scene of the old lady and eldest son whispering and felt his guard rise. He sensed his stable place in the family was at risk.

No, he had to behave well in the coming days to win his grandmother’s favor.

After finishing, Cheng Jundong changed out of his work clothes. Su Li told him to sleep if he could and not to stare foolishly all night.

Cheng Jundong left quickly and arrived in forty minutes, before five o’clock.

Old Master Yang, who had smelled mooncake all day, finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Cheng Jundong arrive.

“Eldest son of the Cheng family, where did you buy those mooncakes?”